Free Web NovelChapter 79: Chapter 79 Broken Chains
Sylvia’s POV:
The familiar motions of cooking helped calm my frayed nerves. As I chopped vegetables and seasoned the roast, I couldn’t help but smile thinking of little Melody’s innocent joy at the pudding earlier today. She and Noah had shown me that there was more to life than pack politics and jealous games.
I’d overreacted at dinner. Caesar was my mate, even if we hadn’t completed the bond yet. We needed to talk properly, to address the insecurities that kept us from truly connecting. I wanted what Noah had described – that deep, unshakeable mate bond that made everything else insignificant.
The sound of voices outside made my heart leap – but then sink just as quickly. Caesar wasn’t alone. freewebnøvel.com
"The guest room has a lovely view of the garden," his voice carried through the door. "You should be comfortable there."
Helena’s musical laugh followed. "You’re too kind, Cae. Hotels are so impersonal, aren’t they?"
They entered the kitchen just as I was placing the last dish on the table. Helena’s eyes swept over my carefully prepared meal with barely concealed disdain.
"Oh, how... domestic," she drawled. "Though I must say, the seasoning seems a bit... simple for someone of Caesar’s refined tastes."
My hands clenched at my sides. All my plans for a mature conversation evaporated as I watched her casual familiarity with my mate, in my home.
"Sivi," Caesar started, noticing my expression. "Helena’s hotel had some issues—"
"Of course it did," I cut him off, my voice arctic. Moving swiftly, I began packing the food into containers. "Don’t worry about dinner. I’m sure Helena can recommend somewhere more suited to your ’refined tastes.’"
"Sylvia, stop," Caesar’s voice held a note of command that I deliberately ignored.
Helena smirked. "Really, Caesar, you shouldn’t let her speak to you that way. A proper mate would show more respect."
"That’s enough!" Caesar’s roar made both of us jump. "Helena, you’re a guest in this house – in Sylvia’s house. You will show her the respect she deserves as my mate, or you will find different accommodations."
Any other time, his defense would have warmed my heart. But it was too little, too late.
"Don’t bother," I said quietly, stacking the containers neatly. "I’ve lost my appetite anyway. Enjoy your evening."
"Sivi, please—"
I turned away from the hurt in his eyes, heading for the stairs. "Goodnight, Supreme Alpha. Ms. Blackwood."
In our bedroom – no, my bedroom tonight – I finally let the tears fall. How had everything gone so wrong? Just hours ago, I’d been planning to open my heart to him, to work towards completing our mate bond.
My phone buzzed, offering a welcome distraction:
"Melody won’t stop talking about you and that pudding. She’s insisting on having lunch with her new friend tomorrow. I know it’s short notice, but would you consider joining us? She rarely connects with people this way. - Noah"
I found myself smiling through my tears. At least someone appreciated my company without playing games.
"I’d love to," I typed back. "Tell Melody I’ll bring dessert."
Setting my phone aside, I curled up in bed, trying to ignore the sounds of conversation drifting up from below. The mate bond in my chest ached with Caesar’s proximity, but I forced myself to stay put.
He’d made his choice by bringing her here. Now he could deal with the consequences.
Tomorrow, I’d have lunch with Noah and Melody – people who seemed to value simple honesty over pack politics and power plays. Maybe that’s what I needed right now.
As I drifted off to sleep, I couldn’t help wondering if Caesar would even notice I was gone.
Caesar’s POV
I watched the hurt in Sylvia’s eyes as she turned away, each step she took up the stairs feeling like a physical pain in my chest. The mate bond, though not yet complete, thrummed with her distress. Orion howled inside, demanding I go after her, but I had to deal with the source of our problems first.
"Sit down," I commanded Helena, letting my Alpha authority fill the words. She sank into the kitchen chair, her usual poise crumbling. The sight held none of the satisfaction it might have once brought me. All I could think about was the careful way Sylvia had packed away the dinner she’d made for us – for me.
"Cae, please," Helena began, but I cut her off with a sharp gesture.
"No. You’ve said enough." I could still smell Sylvia’s presence in the kitchen, that unique blend of winter roses and mountain air that had captivated me from the first moment. "I’ve tolerated your behavior out of respect for your brother and our families’ history. But tonight, you crossed a line."
"I don’t understand," Helena’s voice cracked. "We’ve always been so close. Everyone expected us to—"
"To what?" The words came out harsher than intended, my patience worn thin by the sight of tears on my mate’s face earlier. "To mate? Those were your expectations, Helena. Never mine."
My mind flashed back to the first time I’d scented Sylvia at that Pack Summit three years ago. Even then, my wolf had known. One breath of her scent and everything else – including the carefully arranged political matches everyone had planned for me – became meaningless.
"But we would be perfect together!" Helena’s desperate cry pulled me back to the present. "I know how to be a Supreme Alpha’s mate. I was raised for it! And that girl..." frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓
My eyes flashed gold at her dismissive tone. "That ’girl’ is my destined mate. The Moon Goddess herself chose her for me." The truth of those words resonated through my very being. "Do you think you know better than the Goddess?"
"The bond is barely there," she protested weakly. "Everyone can see it’s not complete—"
"Because I’ve been patient," I growled, remembering every time I’d held back, wanting Sylvia to come to me freely, not out of obligation or pack politics. "Because Sylvia deserves to choose this freely, not just accept it as her fate. But make no mistake – even if the bond was nonexistent, I would still choose her."
And I would. Every time. The way she challenges me, questions me, makes me want to be more than just the most powerful Alpha in North America. The way she looks at me like I’m just Caesar, not the Supreme Alpha everyone else sees.
I pulled out my phone, texting Dylan to arrange Helena’s immediate departure. The sooner she was gone, the sooner I could begin fixing things with my mate.
"You’re sending me away?" Helena’s voice wavered. "Like some troublesome pup?"
"I’m sending you home before you do more damage." I softened my tone slightly, remembering the little girl who used to follow me around pack gatherings. "Helena, you’re like a sister to me. You always have been. I’m sorry if I ever gave you reason to hope for more, but that’s all we’ll ever be."
"She’ll never understand you like I do," she tried one last time.
I couldn’t help but smile, thinking of how Sylvia sees straight through my carefully constructed facades. "No, she understands me better. She sees past the power and politics to the wolf beneath. She’s the gift the Moon Goddess chose for me, and I won’t let anyone – not even an old friend – jeopardize that."
Dylan’s arrival was perfectly timed. As he led a sobbing Helena away, I turned toward the stairs, my enhanced hearing picking up Sylvia’s uneven breathing. She was awake, probably hearing everything.
My wolf urged me to go to her, to explain everything, to complete our bond right now. The memory of her scent, her taste, the way she fits perfectly in my arms – it all pulled at me with almost irresistible force. But I held back.
Sylvia needed time. She needed to know that I respected her enough to give her space, even when every instinct in me screamed to claim her completely. That’s what made her different – she didn’t need my title or my power. She just needed me, as I was.
Tomorrow, I would make things right. But first, I had some arrangements to make. Noah Mu’s sudden interest in my mate hadn’t gone unnoticed. While I understood Sylvia’s need for independence, I was still the Wolf King, and it was time to remind everyone why.
